Fried Eggplant
Credit: Christopher Baker
SERVES 4 – 6
After years of appearing on American dinner tables mostly as an ethnic specialty (as eggplant parmigiana, say, or maybe in a Szechuan-style stir-fry), eggplant has arrived as a mainstream food.
1 cup flour
1 1⁄4 cups white wine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium eggplants, thinly sliced into rounds
Vegetable oil
1 lemon, cut into wedges
1. Place flour in a shallow bowl. Whisk wine into flour, beating until batter is smooth and the consistency of thin pancake batter, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Preheat oven to 200ｰ. Salt or freeze eggplant slices to lessen bitterness and remove excess moisture. Pour oil into a heavy skillet to a depth of 2". Heat oil to 375ｰ or until it sizzles when you drop in a little batter. (If oil isn't hot enough, eggplant will absorb too much of it.)
3. Dip eggplant slices in batter, then drop into oil—as many at a time as you can without crowding the pan. Fry until golden, cooking on both sides, then drain on paper towels. Keep fried slices warm in oven.
4. When all eggplant slices are cooked, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon.
THEN HERE YOU COME WITH A SIMPLE FLOUR/WINE BATTER THAT WORKS SO WELL. YOU SMART GUYS MAKE ME SICK. THANK YOU FOR THE REALLY GOOD RECIPE.